- LA: Letlow wins GOP primary runoff for US Senate
Source: NBC News
“Rep. Julia Letlow won the Republican primary runoff for Senate in Louisiana, NBC News projects, defeating state Treasurer John Fleming in another victory for President Donald Trump’s slate of preferred candidates. Trump endorsed Letlow early in the race, which went to a runoff after none of the GOP candidates won a majority of the initial primary vote on May 16. Trump waded into the state in an effort to oust GOP Sen. Bill Cassidy, who voted to convict Trump on impeachment charges following the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol riot. … Letlow will be in a strong position to win in November in the solidly Republican state, which Trump carried by 22 points in 2024. Democrat Jamie Davis, a farmer, easily won the Democratic Senate nomination Saturday night.” (06/27/26)
- Serbia: Vucic Says He Will Resign as President
Source: US News & World Report
“Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic said on Saturday he would resign within weeks and the country will hold early presidential and parliamentary elections, following 18 months of anti-government protests. The announcement by Vucic, who has been in power as president or prime minister for 12 years, came amid persistent anti-corruption demonstrations led by students and triggered by the collapse of an awning at a railway station in the northern city of Novi Sad in November 2024, in which 16 people died. Protesters, opposition and rights groups allege the railway station disaster was a sign of broader government mismanagement of construction projects and corruption.” (06/27/26)
- Uber expands US driver background checks after sexual assault lawsuits
Source: Engadget
“Uber is adopting a more stringent background check process for its drivers, which will expand the kinds of criminal convictions that will disqualify them from driving or delivering for the company. The ridesharing firm has announced its new standard for background checks, shortly after its shareholders sued the company’s board of directors and executive officers. … The company will start implementing its updated background check, which it believes is the strongest in the industry, starting on Monday. Under the new rules, violent felonies that involve armed robbery, aggravated assault and arson, as well child abuse and endangerment, strangulation and stalking, will disqualify drivers, even if their record was more than seven years ago. Uber already doesn’t sign on interested people who had been convicted of sexual assault, sex crimes involving minors, sexual offenses, murder or homicide, kidnapping and terrorism.” (06/27/26)
https://www.engadget.com/2203130/uber-expands-us-driver-background-checks/
- UK: Senior Labour figures say party is united behind Burnham
Source: BBC News [UK state media]
“The Labour Party is united behind Andy Burnham as its next leader, two senior party figures have told the BBC. The party set out a timeline for a leadership contest following Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer’s resignation earlier this week, but there is scant evidence of support for any contenders other than Burnham. Former defence minister Al Carns has said a speech on Monday, in which Burnham will set out his economic policy, will decide whether he challenges him for the Labour leadership. Labour deputy leader Lucy Powell and Housing Secretary Steve Reed, who had stayed loyal to Sir Keir, both said that Labour MPs were backing a coronation of Burnham, rather than a contest.” (06/28/26)
- Archaeologists in Israel uncover 1,700-year-old Roman-era statues buried face down
Source: Fox News
“An archaeological excavation in Israel recently revealed ancient faces that haven’t been seen in centuries. Two statues were discovered near Binyamina, Israel, according to a June 15 press release from the Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA). Archaeologists were digging ahead of construction of a coastal high-speed railway when they found two marble statues in the wine collection pit of a Roman-Byzantine winepress, the IAA said. The statues, which date back around 1,700 years, depict two unknown figures from the ancient Greco-Roman world. … Researchers are cleaning and conserving the statues before analyzing them further in hopes of determining exactly whom they depict.” (06/27/26)
- In defense of anonymity, the guard dog of free expression
Source: Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression
by Sarah McLaughlin“Among social media commenters, columnists, and even heads of state, it’s a typical refrain: If we just rid ourselves of that pesky internet anonymity and pseudonymity, we will have a cleaner, better, happier world. Anonymity, the common sentiment goes, is the weapon of the evil and the cruel. Despite some prevalent misconceptions, anonymity is not an invention of social media, email, or the internet age. The American founding fathers, for example, took great advantage of pseudonymous and anonymous expression, as have denizens of Rome for hundreds of years on the city’s ‘talking statues.’ Opposition to anonymity is not new either — far from it. … Anonymity and pseudonymity are not weapons trained upon the vulnerable. Rather, anonymity is the protector of the vulnerable, the shield between them and consequences ranging from embarrassment to social fallout to the worst forms of government oppression.” (06/26/26)
https://www.fire.org/news/blogs/free-speech-dispatch/defense-anonymity-guard-dog-free-expression
- Blame the War, Not the Peace Deal, for Iran’s Leverage
Source: The American Conservative
by Ted Snider“The Trump administration is right to defend the MOU as necessary and good. But it is good because it ends the war instead of allowing it to continue on its increasingly damaging path. They are wrong to defend it as an improvement over the JCPOA or even the deal that was on the table before the U.S. and Israel attacked this February. The Islamic Republic, liberated from maximum pressure sanctions and having demonstrated its ability to close the Strait of Hormuz and withstand major attacks, will be in a stronger position than perhaps ever before. A final agreement should be signed; the war should never have been fought.” (06/27/26)
https://www.theamericanconservative.com/blame-the-war-not-the-peace-deal-for-irans-new-leverage/
- Mail Voting Proposal: Make an Example of Steiner
Source: Garrison Center
by Thomas L Knapp“I’ve got mixed opinions on voting itself (for one thing, I’m not sure it accomplishes much), and strong opinions on mail (the government should get entirely out of the matter and let the private sector handle it), but this particular matter is about rule of law. Regardless of whether I like the laws, or how they’re made, or who gets to make them, I’m a big supporter of holding the government and its officials TO the laws they claim are so important for OUR ‘protection.'” (06/28/26)
- In Defense of “Sweatshops”: Path to End Poverty Runs through Cheap Labor
Source: Independent Institute
by Benjamin Powell“Garment factories do not conscript workers when they open in Dhaka, Bangladesh, or Jakarta, Indonesia. Many would-be workers walk for hours, lie about their age, and bribe their way into getting jobs. That is not victimhood. That is how people behave when they’ve found an opportunity to improve their lives. The U.N. panjandrums never consider the alternatives to low-wage factory work in poverty-ridden countries. The reality is brutal: subsistence farming at the mercy of monsoon season, scavenging, informal day labor, and even prostitution.” (06/27/26)
https://www.independent.org/article/2026/06/27/in-defense-of-sweatshops/
- None Dare Call It Socialism
Source: Future of Freedom Foundation
by Jacob G Hornberger“The increasing popularity of democratic socialism is causing the American right-wing, as well as many libertarians, to go bananas. After the Mamdani candidates won, President Trump declared, ‘America the beautiful will NEVER be a Communist Country!!!’ At the same time, some rightwing commentators and libertarian commentators are feverishly reminding people of the millions of people who have died as a result of socialism and communism. I find all of this fierce reaction among both conservatives and libertarians to the soaring popularity of socialism, especially among young people, to be quite amusing. Why? Because right-wingers and a very large percentage of libertarians are among the fiercest supporters of socialist programs that one could ever find … but with one caveat: No one is permitted to refer to such socialist programs as ‘socialism.'” (06/26/26)
https://www.fff.org/2026/06/26/none-dare-call-it-socialism-2/
- What capitalism [sic] will look like in space
Source: New York Post
by Rainer Zitelmann“Science fiction author Arthur C. Clarke wrote in 1977: ‘The impact of telecommunications satellites on the entire human race will be at least the same impact as the advent of the telephone in so-called developed societies.’ Today, that prediction has long been reality. Few people realize how deeply daily life already depends on space infrastructure. If all satellites suddenly failed, navigation systems would collapse. Smartphones and vehicles could no longer determine location accurately. Weather forecasts would become unavailable. Airports would descend into chaos without GPS-based time and positioning data. Traffic signals would desynchronize, leading to chaos on the roads. Supply chains that depend on satellite-supported logistics would disintegrate. Even financial transactions would grind to a halt, as precise time signals via satellites are vital for synchronizing debits and credits.” (06/27/26)
https://nypost.com/2026/06/27/opinion/what-capitalism-will-look-like-in-space/
- We’re against easing the pain of paying tax
Source: Adam Smith Institute
by Tim Worstall“Yes, yes, we know, paying tax is the price of partaking in civilisation. But that’s still a price, a cost. We think that people should see, up close and personal, the cost of that civilisation being built on their money. We are therefore against this: ‘Income tax will be automatically deducted from state pensions for millions of retirees under plans being considered by Labour, The Telegraph understands.’ Not because the state pension should, or should not, be taxed. But because this is easy taxation. Some to many will not really even note it. Tax should be painful so that proper consideration be given to how much is being demanded.” (06/27/26)
https://www.adamsmith.org/blog/were-against-easing-the-pain-of-paying-tax
- “You’re next!” Democrats discover the mob has a mind of its own.
Source: The Hill
by Jonathan Turley“‘You’re next!’ This chant, at the victory celebration of the Democratic Socialists this week, was a message not for the oligarchs or the billionaires, but for House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) and the Democratic establishment. They were threatening that Jeffries would be the next to lose his House seat to a socialist candidate. It was a scene that has recurred throughout history, as establishment leaders are overtaken by the very mobs they sought to use for their own purposes.” (06/27/26)
https://thehill.com/opinion/campaign/5943132-rage-republic-democratic-downfall/
- Iran War’s Biggest Winners: Defense Contractors & Big Oil
Source: Common Dreams
by Elliott Negin“Now that the United States and Iran have signed a nonbinding memorandum of understanding ending their war (at least for now) the general public and pundits have been weighing in on who won. A CBS-YouGov survey released Sunday found that 37% of Americans think the memorandum of understanding (MOU) favors Iran, while 22% believe the United States got the better deal. Nearly half (47%) say both sides broke even. Newsweek, meanwhile, queried 10 military experts ranging from a former US Navy admiral and a former Pentagon official to five think tank scholars and two professors of international relations. Seven said Iran won the war. Two said ‘no one’. Only one thought the United States came out on top, but added, ‘Neither side will gain a complete victory.'” (06/27/26)
https://www.commondreams.org/opinion/contractors-big-oil-win-iran-war
- Recognizing the dangers of democracy
Source: The Price of Liberty
by Nathan Barton“Most, if not all, libertarians know the parable of the wolves and the sheep: what Hawai’i did was that very thing: supposedly, a majority of Hawaiians don’t want to be around guns. And therefore, elected a majority of conscript parents (senators) and people’s representatives that also don’t like to have guns around, either. In a democracy, anything is theoretically possible if a majority votes for it. Even if that majority, for example, consists of 5,000,001 out of 10,000,000 voters. (And since there are no quorums for voting, and so many people either don’t vote or have their votes ignored, that ten million voters would be ‘served democratically’ if only 10% of the voters turned out and the vote was 500,001 to 499,999.) The wolves (well, voters) get to enjoy their choice: veal Parmasan or veal stew, but the sheep are dead and eaten regardless.” (06/27/26)
https://thepriceofliberty.org/2026/06/27/recognizing-the-dangers-of-democracy/
- Leftist Dems thrown under bus, with socialists in the driver’s seat
Source: Fox News
by Tom Del Beccaro“Democrat Rep. Dan Goldman has lost his re-election bid in New York. In the olden days (20 years ago), such an outcome was inconceivable. In the modern Democrat Party, however, the rush to socialism knows no loyalty. No matter what yesterday’s socialist or big government proponent did for the cause, that is not good enough for the current socialists, let alone tomorrow’s. In history, the run-up to class warfare/high tax/redistributionist policies we associate with socialism becomes a spiraling rush. Examples include the end of the Roman Republic and the end of the ancient Greek Athenian democracy. The same is true within the Democrat Party today. James Carville recently said the Democrat Party is ‘not a left-wing party.’ Contrary to his spin, however, the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) have the momentum within the Democrat Party.” (06/27/26)
https://www.foxnews.com/opinion/leftist-democrats-thrown-bus-socialists-drivers-seat
- The President’s Birthright Citizenship Order is Not Just Unconstitutional. It’s Crazy
Source: Washington Monthly
by Orville Vernon Burton & Armand Derfner“The president’s challenge to birthright citizenship is more than unconstitutional, as the Supreme Court will probably hold—it’s crazy. Why? Because it would affect not just children born in the future—as it claims—but would threaten the citizenship of every living, native-born American, whether aged 25, 50, or 75. It would also mean that a U.S. birth certificate would be inadequate to prove American citizenship, thereby becoming almost useless. How can this be? It is all about two words: ‘prospective’ and ‘retrospective.’ The executive order may be ‘prospective,’ but the Constitution of the United States is not.” (06/26/26)
- Poem: The Din
Source: Caitlin Johnstone, Rogue Journalist
by Caitlin Johnstone“They’re designing park benches / so that homeless people can’t sleep on them / and placing metal spikes beneath overpasses / so they can’t be used as shelter. / Jerry Seinfeld says Palestine doesn’t exist / and that sometimes socks go missing in the dryer, / wocka wocka ha ha ha / it’s funny because it’s a witty observation / about life’s everyday little goofy goofs. / Fast food wrappers blow in the wind / like the leaves used to do. / Duct-taped gargoyles with garbage bag wings / peer down at the din of civilization / as we march over the sidewalk sleepers / to our Jobs, / stepping over dead bodies / while staring at our phones / and counting the minutes / til we can go home to our sofas / and watch wocka wocka …” (06/27/26)
- How fearmongering sets policy, from “marihuana” to solar to AI
Source: Los Angeles Times
by LZ Granderson“So much about the technology has been draped in doomsday scenarios and Terminator movies. It’s hard sometimes to separate the impossible from the improbable. Even more difficult if you can’t tell if the technology is meant for the good of all or just aiming to be good for someone’s bottom line. Maybe, unlike in the ‘marihuana’ prohibition era, the scary warnings are valid. But now just as then, we need to separate fact from myth before setting policy.” (06/26/26)
- The Chris Spangle Show, 06/27/26
Source: We Are Libertarians
“Trump’s Reflecting Pool Fiasco Exposes His Pattern of Leadership Failures.” (06/27/26)
https://www.chrisspangle.com/p/trumps-reflecting-pool-fiasco-exposes
- Unattended Baggage, episode 346
Source: Unattended Baggage
“It was fun while it lasted.” (06/27/26)
https://unattendedbaggage.substack.com/p/episode-346-it-was-fun-while-it-lasted
- The Good Fight Club, 06/27/26
Source: Yascha Mounk
“Matthew Yglesias, Claire Ainsley, and Yascha Mounk debate whether progressives have abandoned the working-class voters they once claimed to represent.” (06/27/26)
- Pink Flame of Liberty, 06/27/26
Source: Pink Flame of Liberty
“LNC Chair McMahon moves the LNC back towards default transparency.” (06/27/26)
- System Update, 06/26/26
Source: System Update
“Socialists SWEEP NYC, Tucker Apologizes to Muslims, Europe’s Russia Hate, ‘Chinamaxxing’ & More.” (06/26/26)
https://greenwald.substack.com/p/socialists-sweep-nyc-tucker-apologizes